Wolf's Mock Draft

[wolfkaosaun]

So I will be doing one more mock draft after this one. But I figured it was time for a mock draft, so here we go.

Round 1: Derek Barnett, DE. Tennessee
One of the most prolific pass rushers this draft, Barnett is able to bend the edge and make plays. Not the most athletic player, but he's been consistent, gotten better each year, and is only 20 years old. Uses technique extremely well and sets up the tackles. He is smart and has a relentless motor. Something Bengals fans have wanted is a guy who can finish and get the quarterback down. Wins with anticipation and lower body technique. One of the things that doesn’t show up on the stat line is his ability to take away running lanes and forces half backs to change direction. Barnett is a pretty safe pick with the chance to become very good. If he can learn more inside moves and learns how to counter better, he will be deadly in the NFL.

Round 2: Dan Feeney, OG. Indiana
The Bengals only have 4 active guards, 5 if you include Andre Smith. But Smith has been injury prone lately and seems to be on the decline. The Bengals build for the future by drafting one of the best offensive lineman in the draft. Feeney is powerful and generates a push at the point of attack. He's very good as a run blocker and opens holes. Feeney would be a great asset to this team and could help solidify a shaky offensive line. Feeney is a plug and play starter, plus he's versatile enough that he's played offensive tackle; but he is a better fit at guard.

Round 3: Chris Godwin, WR. Penn State
Quite possibly my favorite "sleeper" receiver in this class, Godwin gives us a very similar player to Marvin Jones. He's a fast player who wins jump balls. He's quick and has pretty good route running. While he isn't the tallest or fastest, he is a good mixture of both. He isn't afraid to go over the middle of the field and make plays. An explosive receiver. If you want to watch some really good tape on the guy, watch him against USC. He put Adoree Jackson on skates and was an amazing player all the way around. Godwin is a good player and has a chance to be a starter down the road.

Round 4A: DeVonte Fields, DE. Louiseville
A player with red flags, but Fields was once viewed as a top prospect while at TCU. He struggled early after having time off from TCU due to injuries and the character issues. However, he has gotten better. Fields has tremendous upside, but certainly needs to get more consistent. He has great closing speed and pursuit. He has everything you want in a pass rusher outside of consistency and character problems. Since the Bengals don't seem to have an issue with drafting players with checkered pasts, why not take one in the draft with big upside.

Round 4B: Howard Wilson, CB. Houston
One of my personal favorites in a deep cornerback class. While he only played one full season as a starter, he was a ballhawk. He's quick and can make plays on the ball that are in the air. He's raw and will have to learn to read routes better, but he has every chance to be a really good player in the NFL. He has fluid hips and has shown the ability to mirror receivers.

Round 5A: Elijah Qualls, DT. Washington
A nose tackle for one of the best defenses this last season, the Bengals need a backup plan at this position. Hardison, Sims, and Thompson are always hurt. Qualls isn't a pass rusher by any means, but he excels as a run stuffer. The Bengals need to get stronger and better at this position. Even though we have players with "potential" here, potential gets you nowhere if they're always on the injury report.

Round 5B: James Conner, RB. Pitt
One of the feel good stories in football. Conner has lost a step due to health reasons, but he is still was a bruiser. Conner was a very good runningback before his illness, but he has some much potential. He gives the Bengals a bruiser and someone who has some quickness to him. Conner could see some playing time and may end up as a steal.

Round 6A: Zane Gonzalez, K. Arizona State
After the Bucs drafted a kicker early last year and he struggled early, kickers may start to fall again. The Bengals met with him and are looking to add some competition in their kicking department. He's done well as a kicker, hitting 83% of his kicks.

Round 6B: Eric Wilson, LB. Cincinnati
Wilson is a bit undersized, and he may be better suited as an outside linebacker. He was a safety converted to linebacker, so Marvin may like him quite a bit as a SAM. Wilson could be a good special teams player.

Round 7A: Trevor Knight, QB. Texas A&M
The Bengals may be looking to move on from McCarron, and they also seem to like to carry 3 QBs. Knight is a good sleeper QB pick who has a lot of the same qualities coaches like in McCarron.

Round 7B: Josiah Price, TE. Michigan State
The Bengals grab a blocking tight end. Something we haven't aimed for in quite some time.

[Whatever]

I don't really care for this at all, tbh.

Barnett has been debated to death elsewhere, and I fall into the opinion that he's not a Top 10 talent. The only thing I'm going to add here is that the guy is not a "pretty safe" pick, imo, due to his lack of athletic ability. NFL history is full of washouts who had great college production, but didn't have the physical traits to compete at the NFL level.

We brought in Andre as a veteran replacement for Zeitler, and Westerman had a 2nd round grade last year. G isn't a massive need, and Feeney isn't a value at this spot. If we're reaching in the 1st for a pass rusher, then we need to get a 1st round talent as the bpa in 2. Feeney is neither.

I like Godwin a lot. He should be a good #2 in a year or two, or possibly a 1b. My only issue is that a lot of the 2nd round WR's like Ford, Westbrook, and Kupp falling, I don't think he makes it out of 2. Great pick if he's there, though.

Fields is the type of guy I would roll the dice on in this spot if I hadn't gotten a pass rusher at this point. We were 19th in sacks last year. While pass rush is a need, going there with two of our first four picks including a reach in the 1st is overkill when we need contributors at other positions.

I honestly despise these mid round CB picks. Right now, we effectively have a 3rd round pick from last year battling with a veteran for the 6th spot. When you add Wilson to the mix, we're going to cut 2 NFL roster worthy guys. Just a wasted pick that doesn't make us any better.

I like Qualls a lot and he's a great pick if he's here. We need someone to rotate with Billings. However, I think he's long gone by this point.

Connor is a decent pick at this point, but we need a bell cow and I just don't see him as that. He's more of a replacement for Peerman than Hill, imo.

Gonzalez is a great pick, and the rest should be ok PS guys, but I'd be really disappointed with this draft.

[wolfkaosaun]

(04-06-2017, 12:53 PM)Whatever Wrote: I don't really care for this at all, tbh.

Barnett has been debated to death elsewhere, and I fall into the opinion that he's not a Top 10 talent.  The only thing I'm going to add here is that the guy is not a "pretty safe" pick, imo, due to his lack of athletic ability.  NFL history is full of washouts who had great college production, but didn't have the physical traits to compete at the NFL level.

We brought in Andre as a veteran replacement for Zeitler, and Westerman had a 2nd round grade last year.  G isn't a massive need, and Feeney isn't a value at this spot.  If we're reaching in the 1st for a pass rusher, then we need to get a 1st round talent as the bpa in 2.  Feeney is neither.

I like Godwin a lot.  He should be a good #2 in a year or two, or possibly a 1b.  My only issue is that a lot of the 2nd round WR's like Ford, Westbrook, and Kupp falling, I don't think he makes it out of 2.  Great pick if he's there, though.

Fields is the type of guy I would roll the dice on in this spot if I hadn't gotten a pass rusher at this point.  We were 19th in sacks last year.  While pass rush is a need, going there with two of our first four picks including a reach in the 1st is overkill when we need contributors at other positions.

I honestly despise these mid round CB picks.  Right now, we effectively have a 3rd round pick from last year battling with a veteran for the 6th spot.  When you add Wilson to the mix, we're going to cut 2 NFL roster worthy guys.  Just a wasted pick that doesn't make us any better.

I like Qualls a lot and he's a great pick if he's here.  We need someone to rotate with Billings.  However, I think he's long gone by this point.

Connor is a decent pick at this point, but we need a bell cow and I just don't see him as that.  He's more of a replacement for Peerman than Hill, imo.

Gonzalez is a great pick, and the rest should be ok PS guys, but I'd be really disappointed with this draft.

Yeah I know it's pretty split, people love him and people are meh on him. So that's not surprising.

I know we brought in Smith, but he's coming off his worst year, on the decline, learning a position he's never done, and has missed over 20 games the last 3 seasons. I'm also not as high on Westerman as others, mainly because we haven't seen anything of him.

This is a pretty loaded WR class, so I could see him possibly slipping. I really like him and think he has a ton of potential.

Understandable, I believe the Bengals are going to go DE twice this draft. Just a matter of when.

We currently have Adam Jomes, Dre Kirkpatrick, Josh Shaw, Darqueze Dennard, and WJIII. Adam Jones could easily get suspended for the year and our CBs aren't exactly the most durable. I'm a big fan of Wilson and think whoever gets him is a steal.

It seems that nose tackles are devaluing and going down in drafts. So who knows, I think he could slip honestly.

I like Conner to replace Peerman. I would like an improvement over Hill. That's why my focus is completely on Saquon Barkley next year.

Hey I like differing opinions, so I appreciate the feedback. Seriously.

[Whatever]

(04-06-2017, 07:10 PM)wolfkaosaun Wrote: Yeah I know it's pretty split, people love him and people are meh on him. So that's not surprising.

I know we brought in Smith, but he's coming off his worst year, on the decline, learning a position he's never done, and has missed over 20 games the last 3 seasons. I'm also not as high on Westerman as others, mainly because we haven't seen anything of him.

This is a pretty loaded WR class, so I could see him possibly slipping. I really like him and think he has a ton of potential.

Understandable, I believe the Bengals are going to go DE twice this draft. Just a matter of when.

We currently have Adam Jomes, Dre Kirkpatrick, Josh Shaw, Darqueze Dennard, and WJIII. Adam Jones could easily get suspended for the year and our CBs aren't exactly the most durable. I'm a big fan of Wilson and think whoever gets him is a steal.

It seems that nose tackles are devaluing and going down in drafts. So who knows, I think he could slip honestly.

I like Conner to replace Peerman. I would like an improvement over Hill. That's why my focus is completely on Saquon Barkley next year.

Hey I like differing opinions, so I appreciate the feedback. Seriously.

Yeah, Barnett seems like a love/hate prospect.  I don't see him at 9, but then again, I've got John Ross in my top 9 for the Bengals, and lots of people think he's a reach, too.  I guess the question for me is are you mocking Barnett here because you think he's the BPA at a position of need, or is it because you want the best pass rusher available at 9 regardless of value?  

I get the trepidation about our OL, I really do, but this is such a bad OL class, I'd rather gamble on the guys we have here that came out of better classes than drop early picks on guys that would go a round or two later in other years.  The potential to come away with two first round talents is just too much for me to pass up.  Plus, I don't see them carrying 4 G's.

Yeah, guys fall all the time for various reasons.  I don't see this as a particularly good WR class, though.  I think Davis and Williams are late 1st/early 2nd guys in a class that has a consensus Top 10 stud or two, and that pushes a lot of guys up the board.  I think it's a pretty deep class, and there's lots of guys who will carve out decent careers as #3/#4 WR's, but I don't see a lot of #1's or even good #2's.

I would've thought we would go 2 DE's before the end of 5 before they brought Gilberry, who's one of the coach's pets back.  At this point, I think you have to look long and hard at RB, NT, and OT before double dipping.

They also have Russell, who was a 3rd round pick of the Chiefs last year, and Benwikere, who has 14 career starts.  Even if Pacman gets suspended for the year, which is unlikely, they would be 5 and 6 behind Kirk, WJIII, Dennard, and Shaw.  

This is one of those things I find interesting, and not singling you out on this, but I always find it interesting when people are seemingly cool with a guy like Billings being handed a starting job sight unseen, but are uneasy about a guy like Westerman playing sight unseen despite the similar circumstances surrounding them.  If I had to guess, it's because everyone scouted Billings last year as a potential 1st round pick and nobody really paid a lot of attention to 2nd round G's.

[*bfine32*]

I've gone back and forth on Barnett. He's not an athlete but he does have great short speed and that's important to a DE. I hate that he is short, both in height and arm length.

[BenZoo2]

Chris Godwin has been rising up boards recently and may be gone in 2. I've seen some sites with a near top 50 grade on him. I would have thought zay jones would have had production given his measurable and the talent he went against.

If the tackles bomb this year we get another high pick and I'd be rooting for mcglinchy out of nd

[*ochocincos*]

(04-06-2017, 07:10 PM)wolfkaosaun Wrote: Yeah I know it's pretty split, people love him and people are meh on him. So that's not surprising.

I know we brought in Smith, but he's coming off his worst year, on the decline, learning a position he's never done, and has missed over 20 games the last 3 seasons. I'm also not as high on Westerman as others, mainly because we haven't seen anything of him.

This is a pretty loaded WR class, so I could see him possibly slipping. I really like him and think he has a ton of potential.

Understandable, I believe the Bengals are going to go DE twice this draft. Just a matter of when.

We currently have Adam Jomes, Dre Kirkpatrick, Josh Shaw, Darqueze Dennard, and WJIII. Adam Jones could easily get suspended for the year and our CBs aren't exactly the most durable. I'm a big fan of Wilson and think whoever gets him is a steal.

It seems that nose tackles are devaluing and going down in drafts. So who knows, I think he could slip honestly.

I like Conner to replace Peerman. I would like an improvement over Hill. That's why my focus is completely on Saquon Barkley next year.

Hey I like differing opinions, so I appreciate the feedback. Seriously.

Also Benwikere and Russell

[wolfkaosaun]

(04-06-2017, 08:35 PM)Whatever Wrote: Yeah, Barnett seems like a love/hate prospect.  I don't see him at 9, but then again, I've got John Ross in my top 9 for the Bengals, and lots of people think he's a reach, too.  I guess the question for me is are you mocking Barnett here because you think he's the BPA at a position of need, or is it because you want the best pass rusher available at 9 regardless of value?  

I get the trepidation about our OL, I really do, but this is such a bad OL class, I'd rather gamble on the guys we have here that came out of better classes than drop early picks on guys that would go a round or two later in other years.  The potential to come away with two first round talents is just too much for me to pass up.  Plus, I don't see them carrying 4 G's.

Yeah, guys fall all the time for various reasons.  I don't see this as a particularly good WR class, though.  I think Davis and Williams are late 1st/early 2nd guys in a class that has a consensus Top 10 stud or two, and that pushes a lot of guys up the board.  I think it's a pretty deep class, and there's lots of guys who will carve out decent careers as #3/#4 WR's, but I don't see a lot of #1's or even good #2's.

I would've thought we would go 2 DE's before the end of 5 before they brought Gilberry, who's one of the coach's pets back.  At this point, I think you have to look long and hard at RB, NT, and OT before double dipping.

They also have Russell, who was a 3rd round pick of the Chiefs last year, and Benwikere, who has 14 career starts.  Even if Pacman gets suspended for the year, which is unlikely, they would be 5 and 6 behind Kirk, WJIII, Dennard, and Shaw.  

This is one of those things I find interesting, and not singling you out on this, but I always find it interesting when people are seemingly cool with a guy like Billings being handed a starting job sight unseen, but are uneasy about a guy like Westerman playing sight unseen despite the similar circumstances surrounding them.  If I had to guess, it's because everyone scouted Billings last year as a potential 1st round pick and nobody really paid a lot of attention to 2nd round G's.

Best pass rusher regardless of value. I like John Ross a lot actually. Realistically, I think the Bengals go Barnett, Davis, or Ross. And I'd be happy with any of them. But they seem to really want a pass rusher early, so it wouldn't surprise me if they went Barnett.

Understandable. It is a VERY weak offensive line class. I debated on Cam Robinson as an OG, because he's a mauler in the run game. But not sure he fits out style and his pass blocking ability is kind of suspect.

I see a few decent #2 options, and I think Godwin is one of them. I also really like Zay Jones and think he would look good here as well.

True, true. Fields is an exceptional player, but they do seem to want a RB though. My only issue is, I hope the RB they draft doesn't take away from Gio. Gio fits the offense better than Hill.

I forgot about Russell and Benk. I really did. But it is possible Adam Jones will get suspended for the year. He got suspended for an altercation with his body guard that had no arrests, no charges, or anything.

Personally, I wanted Billings at #1 last year. So I scouted him and love the guy's playing style. Westerman I like, but I like Feeney more than Westerman now as well. But we all have preferences.

[wolfkaosaun]

(04-06-2017, 09:05 PM)bfine32 Wrote: I've gone back and forth on Barnett. He's not an athlete but he does have great short speed and that's important to a DE. I hate that he is short, both in height and arm length.

He's not athletic and mostly beats you off the edge, but I've seen games where the OT completely sells out and he still beats them around the corner.

He's gotten better over time, I think if he can develop a counter move and shows a consistent ability to beat on the inside as well, he has a chance to be very good.